


Conflict of Interest

by Mag7FandF_FanGirl (RannaFic)



Series: Adjustments and Accomodations [5]
Category: Fast & Furious 6 (2013), The Fast and the Furious (2001), The Magnificent Seven (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, Magnificent Seven AU: ATF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-27
Updated: 2012-08-13
Packaged: 2017-11-10 21:13:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/470748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RannaFic/pseuds/Mag7FandF_FanGirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A case results in Chris getting hurt, some unexpected complications, and Buck dealing with some unresolved issues with Ezra's relationship</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Decisions

Ezra heard the bang behind him, spun, and saw one of the giant wooden crates that filled the warehouse was open and an armed man was stepping out. His heart started racing. Any second now the man would see Brian. Ezra always hated joint jobs with the FBI and this was the second reason why, they never provided adequate backup. They had only sent two other agents with Brian and that was just not enough to ensure adequate cover for everyone in a warehouse this size. He pulled his weapon and drew a bead on the man just as his gun started to come up. There was no time to shout a warning. Brian was good but he was no way near as fast as Ezra or Chris with a gun. Chris had started to turn too but his position was just off enough that he would not be able to get a line on the perp in time. Ezra had flipped the safety and was about to pull the trigger when there was another bang and another open crate and this one, oh god this one was off to the side of Chris and the gun was already up. Ezra saw Chris register the man and start drawing his gun but he knew his boss would not be in time. It was impossible. Ezra had only seconds, probably less, to save Brian and if he switched his target how would he face Jack. He fired and as the man fell, turned and targeted the second man but as he had feared the criminal had already fired and he could see Chris falling, a spray of blood coming from his head. He emptied his weapon into the man and ran for Chris, heedless of their suspect, heedless of anything. Finally, too late, he heard the cries of "ATF", "FBI". Just as he reached for Chris he felt his arm grabbed and twisted and he was being pulled hard towards Chambers, the suspect. Abruptly there was a gun barrel hard against his head. 

Buck could not believe it had all gone wrong so fast and Chris was down. His gun was steady on the arms dealer and he had never wanted to shoot so much in his life. He could not believe Ezra had not taken that guy out before he got Chris. He was the only one fast enough and in position to do it. He felt his anger flare. So when it came down to it Ezra no longer had any loyalty to them. Guess they were only a temporary placeholder till he had a real family. He was about to order a stand down. He would be loyal to his team, if only for Chris' sake, when he heard Vin's calm drawl from above. "I think y'all better drop your weapons now cause you'll be in an unbelievable amount of trouble if'n you don't. Chambers why don't you unbutton that shirt sleeve on the arm you've got all twisted up there." Chambers laughed. "What your agent here got a bomb on his wrist?" but Buck could see he was unbuttoning the sleeve. The shirt slipped down Ezra's arm exposing it and Chambers' voice rang out "Oh Christ! Everybody drop your weapons they're using a goddamn toy!" Buck felt momentary amusement as the men dropped their weapons faster than he'd ever seen before. The FBI agents did not drop their guns but moved them away from Chambers since he was behind Ezra. One of the agents still had a weapon pointed in Ezra's direction but he found himself rapidly and viciously disarmed by his compatriot. Buck's eyes swung to Ezra. The second his arm was loose he had moved to Chris' side and was feeling for a pulse. His yell "Nathan, get over here he's alive!" was the sweetest thing Buck had ever heard. As Nathan came on the run Buck moved, his anger spiking again, he grabbed Ezra and slammed him into one of the crates hard. "It's your fault you disloyal, traitorous, little bastard. He was here to back you up, to make sure you were as safe as possible and you let him get hurt! I should ..." he felt himself tackled hard from the side and pushed off Ezra. He looked and saw Chambers had tackled him to the ground. He attempted to push up and heard a safety click off. One of the FBI agents was pointing a gun at him. "Just stay down"


	2. A puzzle

Ezra paced. The others had had their hands full keeping Buck away from him and finally he had left the hospital waiting area. Brian had been the one to come with him, Ezra had felt too guilty to pull Vin further away from Chris. To Ezra's surprise only JD had been in apparent agreement with Buck's determination that Ezra was to blame. In fact Vin and Nathan had both been zealous in his defense. Vin had snapped at Buck when he kept muttering. His argument had been that no one could have predicted such a trap and Ezra had a responsibility to Brian since he had involved him in the case. Nathan had been on his side too, his response had been vicious to Ezra's mind. "So you think a choice between one of you guys and Rain would be easy, simple?" Buck had just said it was different and refused to enter into any more discussion on the topic. If you had asked Ezra before this he would have thought Buck would have always been one of his strongest advocates. Since Buck had been his ally when Dom had broken up with him he had thought they had a strong relationship. He could not have imagined just how much Buck's attack on him hurt. He tried not to think about it and his mind kept circling to the bust. It should not have been like that. Chambers was small time, he had some real powerhouse weapons but he was just getting started. The four guys they had picked up with him were his whole organization. There was no way he should have risked everything to grab one suitcase of cash. Ezra knew it would be hours before they knew anything. Finally he made a decision. "I need to have a heart to heart conversation with Chambers." Brian looked skeptical, "He'll be in lockup by now and you know the police can be territorial". Ezra was sure it could be managed "I am on excellent terms with the police chief." Brian smiled. "Let's go."

On walking into the precinct the police had initially been cooperative. However getting Ezra anywhere near Chambers was proving impossible. Ezra still didn't want to make his status as an agent general knowledge and his excuse that he wanted to see the man who had hurt his bodyguard was not enough for them to allow him into a potentially dangerous situation. Finally Ezra had needed to get Dom on the phone to explicitly take full responsibility and accept a police escort in the room to accompany him along with Brian, and even then had to be satisfied with staying outside the cell where Chambers was being kept. Fortunately they were able to get as the escort one of the senior detectives who was a friend of Buck and Chris and both knew the secret of Ezra's status and was eager to figure out what had gone wrong. When they finally got to see the gun dealer Brian was impressed with how well Ezra managed to put the man at ease. Finally Ezra managed to talk his way around to the important question. Why would Chambers risk everything to get one case of cash? Chambers was reluctant but he finally had Ezra come close to the bars and whispered to him. The effect had been electric. Ezra had immediately dialed Travis who after a very cryptic conversation had appeared at the front desk with a couple of ATF agents. In less time than Brian would have thought possible Chambers was handcuffed in the back of a car and Ezra drove them all back to the ATF offices. On the way Brian was stunned to hear Ezra's explanation that Chambers was being blackmailed. Someone had kidnapped his young daughter.

"So what was with the cloak and dagger stuff?" Ezra shrugged, "After some past experiences we thought it most expedient to have some code words to indicate when we are dealing with kidnappers. Police stations are not the most secure location so I engaged AD Travis' help to move everyone to a location where we could communicate more freely." Once they were settled in team 7's office he had Chambers explain. His 10 year old daughter Elizabeth had been kidnapped on her way home from school. He had received a call demanding $500,000 in a week. They had only 3 days left and he had become desperate. Chambers finished with "I don't care about going to jail anymore. If you get her back I will plead guilty, testify, do anything I have to but please, she is just a kid." Ezra looked at Travis "The kidnapper must know Chambers' business since he is not visibly rich. Certainly if Chambers was legitimate he would have had no ability to raise that kind of money in a short time. He would have needed to go to the police. The kidnapper knows he will not wish to attract law enforcement and that what he is proposing is difficult but not impossible. Either we are dealing with some rogue agent who is exploiting knowledge for financial gain, or a rival who has become aware of his competition. We need to determine which. Normally the team would be on top of this but " Ezra's voice faltered briefly "obviously with Chris out of action, they are concerned with providing him the necessary support. However since my presence is currently a distraction due to my less than stellar performance at the bust I am willing to work on the issue. Perhaps with backup from another team such as Ryan Kelly's." Travis looked concerned "What are you talking about Ezra? Why are you not with the rest of the team anyway?" Brian interrupted at that "Ezra is blaming himself because he could not perform miracles, unfortunately Buck is blaming him too. The atmosphere was hostile enough that Ezra withdrew from the waiting area and since he's the only reason I'm currently alive I came with him to back him up." Travis looked concerned. "I am sure Buck will calm down in a little while but if not I will have a word with him. However Ezra if you wish to take the lead on this that would be acceptable."


	3. Who is involved?

Ezra was worried. It had been a full day and they still had no definitive idea who might be holding the little girl. In fact the only real progress they had made was decidedly negative. They had asked around careful among various contacts and found that 2 other children of gunrunners were being held hostage. Ezra looked over at the rest of team 8. Usually when he had a problem like this he would start an argument with Chris. It always seemed to shake things up in his brain. Chris was obviously unavailable but Buck was the one who thought the most like him. Obviously he was useless for constructive dialogue but he would go for an argument just fine. He also needed to get assistance from JD. Both of these required confronting Buck. The problem was terminating the argument before Buck did something which would result in Buck putting himself in so much trouble with Dom that Dom would feel forced to take action. Especially since Buck was on thin ice already even with Ezra shading the truth about what had happened at the bust a little. Ezra glanced over at Agent Gustin. Ezra needed an escort if he wanted to make sure nothing too untoward occurred and Gustin would be the best choice but the agent would be likely to balk given that Dom had knocked him cold after the last time he had taken Ezra anywhere without Dom's approval. Ryan was not a possibility since the man knew he was still on probation with Dom which left him out. That left Brett as his best choice of someone able to handle Buck who would be willing to go with him. Ezra sauntered over to his desk "Mr Jordan are you willing to come with me on a short trip to the hospital? I find myself needing to see my compatriots as we are making no progress here." Brett looked at him puzzled then his face cleared "Oh yeah Ryan said something about making sure you did not go off alone." In point of fact Ryan Kelly had instructed his men that Ezra was not to go anywhere without him and particularly not near Buck but Brett had been late to the meeting and not caught the first part of the conversation where they had discussed the incident with Buck in the warehouse and how they would handle it. It was one of the things Ezra was counting on. He smiled at Brett "We could perhaps take my Jag, I WOULD be willing to let you drive." That sealed the deal and Brett grabbed his jacket and with a wave walked out. Ezra lingered behind and told Douglas to let Ryan know they were going to the cafe down the block after making sure Brett was too far away to hear the lie. 

The team was camped out in the waiting room. Ezra could see Nathan had gone, probably went home since Josiah was also missing. Usually at times like this the team came and went in shifts because the hospital would only allow one at a time in the ICU. Vin was not there which probably put him in the ICU leaving Buck and JD in the waiting room. Ezra put on his most arrogant and unfeeling mask and strolled as casually as possible into the room. He deliberately ignored Buck and addressed JD. "Mr Dunne, I believe I need your assistance in a computer matter. We need to help Mr Chambers find something he has misplaced." As Ezra had intended Buck went ballistic. "Wait a second you are helping Chambers? The guy whose men shot Chris?" His first motion towards Ezra was stopped by Brett's intervention which was as quick and effective as Ezra had hoped, even though he had been taken by surprise by Buck's aggression. That meant that Buck was left only with words to make his point. Ezra asked the relevant question then, the one he wanted Buck's input on. "It's clear that either an individual in law enforcement or a fellow criminal is aware of his illegal activities. Though we cannot figure out which. Other criminals are also suffering from the same losses." Buck looked scornful "Well clearly it can't be law enforcement then, not that you would know that since nowadays all the associations you consider important are with criminals." Ezra suppressed his instinctive flinch. "How so?" Buck's smile was malicious "There is no way a cop or a fed would have the budget for investigating multiple gun runners simultaneously. Not that you would know anything about the money limitations of honest cops." Ezra could not control his reaction to that. He actually felt his breathing hitch as though he had been sucker punched. At that though JD responded "Jesus Christ Buck I thought you must have a point, that somehow Ezra must have done something wrong to justify your hostility but if you're actually going to pretend you think he is crooked ... I have to think you're wrong about all of it. Ezra if you need my help, let's go, Chris will not wake up for at least another 24 or 48 hours according to the doctors. I can do with something to take my mind off this." Ezra caught his breath and then turned and left with JD in tow. He was not going to think about what just happened.

To say Ryan was not thrilled when they got back with JD was to severely understate the case. Ezra interrupted his full volume dressing down of Brett by indicating that "I deceived Mr Jordan into thinking that his accompaniment was all that was necessary to satisfy your strictures and then indicated to Mr Stone that we were simply going down the block." Ryan was furious, "Goddamn it Ezra if Dom decides we are untrustworthy over this he could forbid you from working not just with us but even with your team. What the hell is Chris going to say if he wakes up to find you off his team?" He was not satisfied that Dom would think that "Ezra tricked me." was enough of an excuse a second time. "He will think and rightly so that my men should know who is allowed to escort you and where. You knew Brett was not paying attention but he should have been. If it takes suspending Brett to make it clear that we take this seriously I'm going to do it." Ezra paled "No! That is patently unfair. There was no problem, Brett prevented Buck from touching me." Ezra had in fact not intended to mention any such thing but Brett had insisted they tell Ryan the whole truth. Ryan paused, and thought. Clearly Ezra was more upset on Brett's behalf than he was concerned about himself. Perhaps there was a way out of this fiasco without damaging Brett's career. Ezra balked at Ryan's insistence that Brett had to call and explain to Dom what had happened and agree to whatever Dom requested to make things right. However nothing Ezra said could get Ryan to change his mind. 

Dom listened to Brett's explanation in silence and then asked to be put on the speaker phone. "Sunny" Ezra's quick attempts at explanation and excuses were cut off and Dom demanded he simply answer a few questions. "How essential was it to finding these kids to talk to Buck and get JD on board." "We are running out of time. If we are to rescue the kids it will have to be tomorrow evening at the latest and I needed to narrow the search and bring in the best." Ezra saw Ryan look puzzled at the brevity of his answers but he was not going to choose now to play games with Dom. Not with Brett potentially paying the price. Dom's second question was the one Ezra was dreading. "So would you say your substantial escort was actually necessary?" Ezra winced. He had hoped Dom did not remember who was who on Kelly's team. "Was there a reason you picked Jordan and not agent Stone or Gustin?" Ezra's response was subdued but perfectly clear. "Agent Gustin was unlikely to allow me anywhere without Mr Kelly's prior approval. Agent Stone might not have had the necessary physical presence to restrain Buck."

"How bad was it Ezra and this time the whole story and no games." For the first time Ezra tried to evade the question "You have to understand that Buck was distraught and he blamed me for not being fast enough. Something hardly surprising since I would venture to say I agree with his assessment. He can hardly be blamed for a bit of an exuberant reprimand for my failure." Dom's voice was patient which was a bad sign at this point. "Ezra Standish answer the question." Ezra figured that was all the warning he was going to get. He sighed. "He slammed me into a wooden crate. He was prevented from punching me when an FBI agent drew on him. He had to be restrained to prevent him from attacking me at the hospital. Please Sir, I owe him, so do you. A few bruises do not count for much weighed against that." Dom's voice was quiet. "We will talk about that when this is over."

Dom sighed " I realize there are children involved so it is useless to expect you not to take a certain amount of risk. However I expected better of Kelly's men I'm sure he told them he had to be a part of your escort since I expect he was aware of the situation with Buck. It is possible Buck would have still tried something with him there and at least Jordan prevented him from touching you. Given that I am willing to continue to allow Ryan and his team to bodyguard you. With the understanding that you will never again lie to team 8. In fact while this case is ongoing you treat them as if they were your own." "Please Dom I really do not need" Dom cut him off "As for Mr Brett Jordan, I think he was careless so I'm going to give him a choice he can watch me take a belt to you or he can take the punishment himself." Jordan's answer was short and concise "I'll take any punishment though I would prefer something a little more dignified than a spanking if that is possible." Ezra's voice was distressed "No! Agent Jordan I insist you do nothing of the kind. I do not believe you were aware of any such possible penalty, unlike myself. It is hardly equitable to allow you to be punished in such a fashion." Jordan's response was simple "Dom's right I was careless. I know better than to continue without finding out the whole story from Ryan and anyone on this team is aware that taking you anywhere without permission is less than a good idea." "Please." Ezra's voice was anguished "I would not have attempted this if I had any idea you would pay a price for it. I could have tried being honest with Buck this was simply the most expeditious method." Erza switched tactics "Really Brett do you wish to be treated like a recalcitrant child. I would think you would have more self respect." Anger flashed briefly across Jordan's face before he stopped and laughed "Damn Standish you really are good, turned on a dime there. No I'm not going to loose my temper and change my mind." Dom simply waited until the discussion was done. "I think this will ensure there will be no more games with team 8. So at this point they can be trusted to look out for you." Dom addressed Ryan Kelly "Agent Kelly you are still Sunny's guardian. Apparently your men are well trained and can still do their job even when surprised by circumstances. I think they'll make sure they know all the facts from you going forward." There was a chorus of agreement from team 8 at that. 

"I found him." JD's smile was broad. Ezra relaxed finally. He had known that JD was the best. "So our guess that there was a connection through the supplier was correct?" "Absolutely dead on. Once we had our name then I could backtrace him, though he did a fairly decent job of hiding. He will not expect any government agency to have the ability to find him. There is one issue though. Since we figured he has to have the kids stashed close and there was no indication of any office I got his home blueprints. He has a secret room built like a fortress. If we end up having to force our way inside it could conceivably take long enough that he might have a chance to hurt the kids before we could get to them." "So somehow we have to get him to answer the door?" JD scowled at Ezra's question "Unfortunately it is not that simple. You remember Chambers and the others mentioned he made clear there is a dead man's switch. The blueprint shows what appears to be wiring to an extremely strong safe door. I suspect that that the dead man's switch locks the secret room if triggered. That door looks strong enough that by the time we could cut through the kids will have suffocated. We need to somehow get him to take us to the room where he's holding the kids and open it. At that point it would be safe to take him out but not before." Ezra sighed, why was nothing ever easy.


	4. Figuring a way in

Ezra wished for his team. Team 8 was very clever and professional but what they needed was more of the crazy flashes of invention for which Team 7 was famous. Without his teammates he was drawing a blank and time was running out. He hated to pull any of his teammates away from Chris. He had already sent JD back to the hospital once he had admitted he was out of ideas but he needed to brainstorm with someone. He decided to call Vin and ask him to conference in the others except for Buck. Once the problem was explained to them they were more than willing to help but no one was able to come up with anything. Finally he asked them to pull Buck in out of desperation, but he cautioned them not to explain about the kids. Buck angry was still the closest thing he had to his argumentative relationship with Chris and that was still the most creative source for solutions around. Josiah convinced Buck to join them on the phone and Ezra chose his words very carefully. “We need to retrieve Mr Chambers property from a thief's house but he has it in a vault with a deadman's switch. No one is able to come up with a way to get close enough to Chambers to either frighten him into giving up the key or trick him into opening up the vault on his own. We were looking to see if you perhaps had some idea how we could help retrieve the lost property.” Buck's voice was harsh. “Well gee Ez you could always take up your precious identity as a whoring little toy and have Dom hand you over as a party favor, I'm sure you could use your talents to convince anyone to part with anything if you had a mind to it." Ezra froze in shock at the venom in Buck's word but they did spark his mind racing in new directions. He was spared the need to respond to Buck's taunt since the next voice on the phone was Nathan's. He was relieved to hear JD in the background yelling at Buck. “Sorry Ezra we wouldn't have let him on the phone if we knew he was going to be so vicious.” “No it's OK it may have given me an idea.” Ezra paused he should not need to ask but he was shaken by Buck's words. “I'm not..., you guys don't think of me like...” “God no Ez.” Nathan's voice suddenly sounded amused. “You don't even have to ask. You must know Buck is just trying to hurt you. Hey remember we know Dom got a fortune from you when he signed the contract so it doesn't even make sense as an insult” Ezra relaxed Buck was just going for the jugular yet again. “It does change my pattern of thought to a new track so I am grateful for that at least. I will contact you gentlemen again when this is over.”

Dom was skeptical at first "Sunny implying that we have council authorization is beyond suicidal." Ezra smiled "We are going to imply that you are investigating to bring a case on your own behalf but that you have permission to secure Chambers family if the judgement goes against him. In fact we could discuss this with Mr Turturo's contact just to make it legitimate. He will have no way of imagining how we tracked him down. That is the kind of magic for which the council is famous. He will feel he has no choice but to produce Chambers' daughter and once he does so, we will have him.


	5. Reactions

Ezra's voice rang with convinction "No absolutely not, under no circumstances am I wearing that around team 8." Dom was completely inflexible "If you want this to work you will. Your little scenario requires it. He will be suspicious and on edge otherwise and you cannot afford that." Dom sighed "Look Sunny, you know I would not suggest this unless it was necessary. Turturo was really clear about the expectations and limitations his ally on the council required. You have to realize ..." "Alright." Ezra cut him off "I do not have to learn a lesson more than once. We will approach this as a requirement of the role and proceed from there." 

"Oh my god is that a collar!" Doug Stone's voice rang out clear and filled with amusement. Ezra flushed red but he moved with speed to step in front of Dom. Ryan Kelly grabbed his agent and dragged him into his office and a door slammed behind them. Dom stepped to go around Ezra but then Kirk Gustin and Brett Jordan were both there offering what were clearly sincere apologies. Ezra did not meet their eyes he was too embarrassed but he stepped close into Dom he needed to calm him fast and the best way was to trigger his desire to comfort since that would override the protective drive now that the cause was out of the room. He allowed his mortification and unhappiness to color his voice though he hated to let his feelings show in these circumstances. "Dominic, please I am sure Agent Kelly will explain to him the inappropriate nature of his comments but if you take him to task then he will feel compelled to defend his agent. Besides if you hurt him he will not be able to participate in the case." Dom sighed and scooped Ezra up and then walked into the Team 8 conference room and sat down settled Ezra in his lap and wrapped his arms around him. Ezra took a moment to curl up drawing strength from Dom's arms as he always did. Then he turned and allowed his eyes to meet those of Kirk Gustin. He expected to see a carefully bland face hiding a smirk but to his surprise saw only anger and a good deal of embarrassment.

"Agent Standish you have my apologies on behalf of the team. That was incredibly unprofessional as well as rude. I promise you that such behavior will not be repeated in the future we are not kindergarteners here despite appearances. Mr Toretto I am so sorry you had to hear such an inappropriate comment. I promise you we do know better and no disrespect was intended." Ezra straightened he expected the apologies to Dom they were not interested in meeting with his fists or loosing their coveted position as team 7 's backup. He could imagine Chris' response to Dom refusing to allow him to work with team 8 again and so could they. He did not expect the personal, professional apology. Perhaps his team were not the only ones who appreciated his job performance. He looked over at Brett and saw the same anger that Kirk had expressed, "I'm sorry Ezra I think he was just surprised and reacted. I don't think he meant any offense. He's been trying to convince Ryan that he can try undercover because he is able to handle surprises in the field though I guess that's out the window now since his reactions are clearly idiotic. I don't think he realizes how disrespectful he was being personally. He's a good guy just has a problem keeping his mouth shut." Just then Ryan Kelly and a very obviously chagrined Doug Stone filed into the conference room. "Mr Toretto I assure you Agent Stone..." Dom raised a hand "Was he intending to hurt or belittle Sunny." "No I assure you." "Is he going to bring this up in the future to try and embarrass him." Doug answered that one "No, I'm sorry I was surprised Ezra is so composed generally that ..." "Are there any consequences for that little display of disrespect?" Ryan's voice was dry "After this operation he's on unpaid suspension for a week, and it will go in his record with a note for unprofessional behavior" Dom relaxed at that but Ezra glanced quickly at him and at his silent acknowledgement addressed Ryan. "Please Ryan the suspension is fair but a note in his record would be exceedingly upsetting for me. I would not wish to be the cause of a permanent black mark against any of the agents on your team. I do appreciate the attempt to impress upon him the grave nature of his transgression but please do not make the cost so severe on my account." Doug looked at Ezra his expression full of gratitude "I appreciate the effort but this is the much reduced sentence. He considered putting me on probation with the team. I had not realized how seriously he took his guardianship. He explained that either I was behaving unprofessionally by attempting to embarrass you in such a fashion that it threatened your ability to perform in an undercover role or worse I was discussing a toy who was clearly marked as such which is an attempt to indicate my interest." Dom interjected then his voice thankfully finally calm and amused "Or you were commenting on my ability to hold Sunny in an attempt to provoke a fight." Doug drew a startled breath at that. "I promise it was none of those. I was just really surprised. I think of Ezra as totally in control all the time so it was funny. It will not happen again." Dom's eyes swept over the team "Apologies accepted. Ryan don't bother with the black mark I approve of the gesture, it's not necessary to carry it out as it will distress Sunny. " 

Then Dom's eyes darkened and he looked at Ryan "While we are discussing consequences for inappropriate behavior perhaps now would be a good time to address the matter of Agent Jordan." Dom was unsurprised by Ezra's reaction to that. "No you cannot do such a thing. Dom please. As I have pointed out he had no idea he was transgressing any boundaries and still less any concept of the consequences. You cannot possibly hold him responsible for my choices." Dom glared "I gave him a choice Sunny. He was the one who determined what would happen." Ezra continued to argue "He has no conception of what he is facing. It is unreasonable in the extreme to in effect punish him for trusting my veracity. Any penalty due should be paid by me since I was fully aware of the import of my actions and the likely outcome." To Dom's surprise Jordan intervened then. "I was careless Ezra, our team knows as well as any how particular Dom is about your safety. If nothing else I should have talked to Ryan first and I knew it. I just did not bother." Suddenly Ryan laughed and Dom turned to him in surprise. "So the two of you are arguing over who is going to have a belt taken to them but you're both arguing that it should be you?" Dom laughed too then said formally "Do you want to change your answer Agent Jordan?" Jordan was equally serious "I can't stand by and watch him be hurt. Even if you accept his statement that I am only partially to blame it is my job to stop him from getting hurt regardless." "Well in that case Sunny, sit and be quiet." The defiance in Ezra's voice was expected "Or you'll what? Punish me? If you're going to do that then you might as well punish me for both actions. That seems the more reasonable course of action." Dom's voice was quiet. "No I'll simply refuse to allow team 8 to be your backup and revoke Ryan's guardianship as it will be obvious that you do not respect them." Ezra sighed and quieted. Dom turned to Jordan. "Stand against the wall". He pulled off his belt and stepped forward and brought it down hard against the agents back. Jordan jumped at the pain. "Hurts a lot more than you think doesn't it? Imagine what it feels like on bare skin. Don't put me in the position where I have to do this ever again. You understand me." Jordan nodded. Dom walked away changing the subject abruptly "Ok we're done here. Let's figure out how to get those kids home."


	6. Children are a Treasure

Thomas Hamilton was a very cautious man in some ways. Obviously fundamentally he was not. Stealing children from mobsters and gun runners is after all not the action of a cautious man, but given that as his chosen method of making money he was very cautious. He made sure all his victims were very clearly informed about his deadman switch and he made triple sure they were devoted parents. Then he hid his ownership of his home as best as possible. This meant he was very surprised to hear a knock on his door and someone calling him by name, and the correct name at that. He made sure his gun and deadman switch were in hand before answering the intercom. "Who is there?" The man waiting to talk to him was not visibly armed but he was very large and muscular. He was wearing a blood red T-shirt and black pants and most interestingly of all had what was very obviously a toy, on a very expensive leash. "Mr Hamilton my name is Dominic Toretto and I just finished talking to a councilman about you. I am interested in the asset belong to Mr Chambers that you recently acquired." Hamilton found that an interesting statement. He could imagine the council would be readily able to find him, they could of course find anyone easily and he did not want to be on their bad side any more than anyone else sane or otherwise. He was not sure if this man was officially from the council but the outfit was certainly consistent with what he would imagine would be worn by council enforcers. All things being equal he needed to at least talk to this man. "Alright, come on in."

Dom glanced over and saw that Ezra's tension had dissipated a bit. They were through the first hurdle and had managed not to lie about their council sanction or even technically impersonate a council enforcer. Dom had been amazed that Ezra had been able to talk Turturo, a man who he had been responsible for putting in jail, into helping them. Ezra had shrugged it off though with the comment that mob guys knew that families were out of bounds while Turturo called to make the introductions to the council member. For Dom the most interesting thing in the conversation with the council man was finding out that the general belief that council enforcers wore blood red was actually incorrect. In fact the councilman had been amused when Dom had asked. However Dom was aware that they were skirting a line and Turturo's council asset had been extremely specific about where it was and which side of it to stay on. Now Dom just had to make sure that he did not get thrown out as soon as he admitted he was not from the council. Turturo's friend could see the obvious threat, children and toys were similar categories in the minds of the mob council members at least. However the mafia bosses were aware that some of the other council members would not understand or agree so there could be no official support. Given his opinions though Turturo's councilman had been willing to do the most important thing, consult to make sure nothing was said or done which would anger the council, but ensure that what they could say would allow them to get their foot in the door.

Once he was inside Dom rapidly explained his purpose. He told Hamilton he intended to press charges against Chambers for assaulting and attempting to kill his toy, and that he intended to hand over Chambers' daughter to one of the council members to ensure that his case could be processed once the council accepted the claim. Hamilton was immediately wary when he found Dom was not from the council but he calmed when he realized Dom's purpose. He was pleased with Dom offering a fee as well. Dom was careful, too much money would spook him but he offered just enough that it was plausible for a racer on the edge of his ability to pay. Ezra meanwhile played the highly trained, well behaved toy to the hilt. He wanted Hamilton to completely discount him as a threat. Initially Hamilton would occasionally glance at Ezra but after the first few minutes of quiet kneeling with downcast eyes Ezra found himself discounted completely, exactly as they had planned.

"Here we go" Hamilton turned the last switch and stepped into the room. He kept a wary eye on Dom but relaxed when the man did not move. "I'll get Chambers' girl. He started moving towards the kids, and something hit him from the side hard enough that his deadman switch flew from his hand. He could not believe it, he went down hard, stunned and looked up to see the toy perched on top of him a knife hard against his throat. "All clear, everyone move in." Hamilton heard a crash from the front door. Then Dom was there too. "Don't need you anymore." his fist came down, and that was the last thing Hamilton saw. Ezra gathered up the kids and ushered them out of the room. There were 5 of them including Chamber's daughter. They had managed to learn about 4 being taken so Dom started placing calls to those parents while Ezra talked to the kids and drew out the information from the fifth. Finally Ezra discovered that her name was Janice Tenabras. She was the daughter of one of the biggest drug lords on the east coast who was visiting family in the area. Ezra took that call himself, it required a lot of fast talking to get past the first level of protection but finally Ezra was talking to one of the inner circle. At that point he simply put Janice on the phone. When she handed it back Tenabras was on the phone himself wanting to know what had happened. Ezra was short and to the point. "We were pursuing a case on behalf of a federal agency and came across your daughter. We are having police officers deliver the children to their parents. Give us your location and we will have her home as soon as possible." Ezra waved away the offer of money as Dom had for the other kids. "We just want to get the kids home." He took down the addresses and then smiled as the police cars began arriving. He suspected this was the first time ever these men would be glad to see a law enforcement officer. Ezra wondered how long Hamilton would survive in jail. It was extremely doubtful he would see trial. One of these parents would make sure he was killed messily as soon as possible. Ezra felt something in him relax. Finally, things were going well. Suddenly he felt his phone vibrate, it was Vin. Chris had finally woken up.


	7. Awakening

Chris surfaced slowly out of a fog of confusion. He looked beside the bed and saw Vin. "Hey." Vin's smile lit up the room. "That was a pretty long nap." Chris's voice was hoarse "Needed a break." Vin's response before Chris fell asleep again was simple "Glad to have you back." The next time Chris woke he could see what looked like the whole team there. He relaxed, he had not been sure he was the only one hurt. Over the next few days the guys were in and out of his room but he could not help but notice he had not seen Ezra since that first glimpse. Finally after two or three days of recuperation he felt strong enough to ask. Buck and JD were horsing around in the room and he called Buck over. "So I guess Dom was pissed huh? How much work am I gonna have to do to get him to let Ezra back?" Buck looked confused and then oddly enough embarassed. "Don't worry about it. Now that you're really awake I'll talk to him." A few hours later Ezra showed up Dom in tow. Ezra's smile was easy and he made Chris smile but to Chris everything about him screamed unhappiness. Chris requested Ezra wait outside so he could talk to Dom and a look passed between them that he could not interpret. Just then Nathan came in and Dom asked him to hang with Ezra for a while. Once Ezra was gone Chris attempted to apologize to Dom but to his surprise Dom waved it away. His subtle attempts to discuss where Ezra had been were deflected carefully away and so he finally just asked bluntly. "Are you pulling Ezra from the team?" Dom's assurances that Ezra would still be on the team were clear enough and comforting but left Chris with the question "Then why wasn't Ezra here? And why did you want someone with him. I know Buck and JD are outside." Dom's response was simple if confusing."I think you better talk to Buck." Somehow Chris was unable to pull Buck aside the rest of the day. However when the same thing was happening the next day he realized Buck was avoiding talking to him. Finally he simply demanded everyone but Buck leave and then asked directly why Dom had made the statement. The whole story of what had happened at the end of the bust came tumbling out of Buck in a flustered rush. Chris listened in disbelief and could not believe that Buck still seemed angry with Ezra. Finally he asked the one question that seemed obvious to him "But Buck I'm significantly faster than Ezra. If I did not have time to shoot the guy, how could you have expected Ezra to have time to change targets and fire. He would never have had the chance. He had to take out the target he was on first anyway that's standard procedure regardless. Besides Buck it's a bad choice all around. In the same situation last month with a shot to help me or JD you shot the man targeting JD first. You were lucky the guy missed me but you think I resented that you chose JD?" Buck paled, laughed and then suddenly froze. "Oh Christ Chris, what have I done?" Chris smiled "I'm sure Ezra will forgive you being an idiot." It was then Buck told him what he had done and said at the hospital.

Chris had needed to apply all his persuasive powers to get Dom to allow Ezra in the room with Buck without Dom or at least one of the others present. It helped that Dom had already had as Ezra would have put it a "little physical altercation" with Buck so he could be sure that Buck would be on his best behavior. Chris watched Ezra's eyes as he came into the room. He was adept at fooling everyone but his eyes would not lie to his team. His heart fell as he saw the expression in them as they glanced over Buck. It was clearly as bad as Buck feared, perhaps worse. Well there was one thing he could do right off the bat if Buck had been blaming Ezra then he knew Ezra would be feeling guilty. He could end that at least right now. "Ezra look at me." he continued when their eyes met "You did absolutely nothing wrong, I'm faster than you remember? If I could not hit that guy before he shot me you would never have been able to either. Your choices were to save Brian or let us both get shot. You chose the right one. If you had even tried anything else I would have spent days yelling at you. Jack needs a father, Mia needs a husband. You cannot imagine I would agree to any other choice even had it been possible." He saw something relax in Ezra at his words. Chris waved Buck out of the room then since he wanted Ezra to be able to relax and really hear him. "Buck has been telling me what a prize idiot he has been and he wants to apologize for himself but I have to tell you one thing Ez. I swear to you he did not mean what he said about you being corrupt. He has never doubted your innocence on those charges the FBI investigated. He wanted to hurt you so he said the thing most likely to do it. He did NOT believe it ever. I swear to you he never meant any of it on Sarah and Adam's graves. As for the rest of it I know he does not have to explain why he would never think of you or anyone as a whore." He saw something mend itself in Ezra's eyes then, something that had been shattered reform. "We OK?" Ezra's agreement was soft but sincere. He grinned suddenly, "Make sure I'm around for any retribution or groveling." Ezra laughed suddenly "I promise." Chris shooed them all out of his room. It would take time but he was sure in the end it would be OK.


	8. Apology accepted?

Buck was frustrated. He had been completely unable to get Ezra alone, or even just Ezra and Dom together. He knew he owed Ezra an apology but he was really uncomfortable offering one in front of other members of the team, and one or the other of them was always present somehow wherever Ezra was, no matter the location or time. Finally he broke down and asked JD point blank if they were ensuring Ezra was never alone with him. JD looked astonished, "Jesus Buck of course we are. You attacked him, you tried to hurt him, hell you did hurt him on more than one occasion after that. Did you think we'd just let it go? You haven't even apologized to him." "What do you think I'm trying to do? No one likes to apologize with an audience." JD was unmoved "Yeah, too bad! You want near Ezra without an escort you damn well apologize first." Finally Buck bit the bullet, called the whole team together in Chris' hospital room and offered Ezra an apology. "I was wrong to resent you helping Brian even if you had deliberately picked him over Chris. I'm sorry you were hurt by what I said. Though I would have thought you would know that I did not really mean those things." Ezra smiled, "Think nothing of it Mr Wilmington. Apology accepted." Buck breathed a sigh of relief, finally they could move on.

Things got better with the team but Buck could feel a difference in the way that the team interacted with him. He figured things would get back to normal once Chris was back full time but even then there was something stilted in the team reactions to him. JD seemed fine but the others were still slower to laugh at his antics, quicker to get annoyed at his banter. At first he thought it was just needing to get back on the job but one successful case was closed and then two and still there was something off. Josiah was so almost normal he could not articulate any difference but Nathan and Vin were.. , the best word was skittish. Chris was almost the same as before except he would always place himself between Buck and Ezra and never let Buck be Ezra's backup. When Buck challenged him he responded that Dom would yank Ezra from the team if there was any issue between them anytime in the near future. He was going to prevent that until Dom was completely fine. Buck could find no fault with that. The most normal of them all was Ezra, almost. Buck could not put his finger on any word, or look, or behavior but something was off.

After a third case with no change Buck pulled Nathan aside and asked him what was going on. Nathan initially gave no answer but finally he gave in when Buck kept pushing. "He's acting." Buck was confused. Nathan's response was exasperated. "Ezra is remembering how he used to react to you and attempting to emulate that behavior. In essence he is playing a person who considers you trustworthy. Problem is, he does not feel that way anymore so he occasionally makes a mistake." Buck was floored. "What? So he does not consider me a friend?" Nathan looked annoyed "Do not be an idiot. What, are you concerned he would not back you up? He'd die for you, same as always." That had Buck annoyed "You think I'm worried about that? I would never want that any more than you would. I know I can trust him. If he does not trust me, what does he really feel about me then?" Nathan paused then sighed "Mostly fear that you will hurt him again and pain that you wanted to hurt him in the first place. I would have been easier if you had shot him Buck, that would have been kinder and over faster. You deliberately hurting him and then that farce of an apology. He figures you would happily hurt him again so he holds back, same as me and Vin." Buck jumped at the chance to clear up what was going on with them too. "Yeah you guys are wary too. What gives?" Nathan looked surprised. "What did you expect? The fact that you hit someone where they were most vulnerable and then said essentially 'sorry you were too sensitive' as if the fault was Ezra's rather than yours for saying those things in the first place. As if there was nothing wrong with what you said. It would make anyone who knows they could be easily attacked wary." Buck was frustrated. "I have no idea what you are talking about!" Nathan got angry then "So if you were that furious at me and tried to hurt me by saying I got my position cause I'm black or if you said Vin was stupid and uneducated then you'd be surprised if 'I'm sorry your feelings were hurt' did not cut it as an apology." Buck was dumbfounded and then abruptly angry "Of course I would be wrong if I should god forbid ever say anything like that. Once I stopped being angry I never thought anything but that I was wrong. There was no excuse for what I said. I should have jumped off a bridge before I implied Ezra was corrupt, or, or a whore. My mother would have been so ashamed of me for that one. I know it's all false. I knew it then. I'm really bad with apologies and especially in public. I just wanted to get the sorry out. I never meant, I never intended to make anyone think I thought what I said was OK, that Ezra was in any way at fault." Nathan finally looked mollified. "Well that's more like an apology. You say that to Ezra he might actually trust you again. Hold on, we need to consult with Vin, and probably Josiah on this one." Buck waiting while Nathan motioned Vin over to his office and called Josiah back from Chris'. Buck stayed quiet while Nathan explained and was relieved to see that undefinable something wrong was gone from both Vin and Josiah when they looked over at him for confirmation. So now the next hurdle was Ezra.

After consultation they decided the best route was to go through Dom. Both Nathan and Josiah agreed that Vin was the best person to approach him because even though intellectually he knew all the team members were equally unrelated to Ezra, his first impressions had lasted and emotionally he thought of Vin as somehow more Ezra's brother. It did not hurt either than Vin had been the one to rescue Ezra from Leon. Vin arranged through Mia to meet Dom privately the next day for lunch. Vin had tried to keep the discussion short and concise but it looked like he was going to have to explain a lot more because Dom was visibly skeptical "So he thinks another apology will make a difference? Sunny has forgiven him already you know. He does not readily hold grudges." Vin squirmed under his gaze, obviously Ezra had left a few details out. He had no desire to get Ezra in trouble but at the same time he wanted his team back the way it had been. Dom's eyes narrowed then he sat back with a sigh. "What did Sunny leave out? He admitted to me that he still felt wary but he said he thought it might wear off gradually." Well Vin supposed fear was loosely covered by wary. "I ... he ... Um he's not lying exactly, sort of shading. Look maybe we should just drop this and we will work something else out." Dom glared then slumped, "Look if you just tell me I promise not to hold it against him. I think he's lying to himself and so I'm not getting the whole story. Please, I can tell something's wrong but not what. I need to know." Vin took a deep breath and told Dom the whole story. "So then we decided you would be best to setup a meeting between Buck and Ezra." Vin was glad he was done explaining. He did not think he had talked so much in years, maybe ever, it did not help that Dom initially looked murderous and then just sorrowful. "Explains a lot." Dom said finally. "Yes Sunny does need to meet with Buck. He needs to hear this but I think you should first have Nathan explain what made Buck realize the problem. If it comes out of the blue he will not trust it." They agreed that Nathan and Buck would come over on the weekend and that Dom would even admit they wanted to talk about what was going on in the team.

Ezra was,.. nervous did not quite capture it but he refused to admit to scared. Dom had been adamant that he had to talk to both Nathan and Buck and Ezra felt guilty enough about shading the truth about his feelings that he had agreed with only token protest. He had thought Dom would be angry that things were not as fine as he was pretending. He could have dealt with angry, the problem was Dom was hurt. He had asked if Ezra didn't trust him, if he had thought he would be dismissive of his concerns. Ezra had found it hard to explain, some of it was a fear that Dom would threaten Buck, force him to pretend to care about Ezra again. He had just wanted to pretend, to Buck, to the team, and most of all to himself that everything was fine. He hated that he had made Dom question himself so he had readily agreed to Dom's request even though he really did not want to do it. He was afraid, that Buck had somehow realized that he was faking it and would force the others to push him off the team as unreliable, untrustworthy. He kept telling himself if that was it then Chris would be coming, not Nathan, but he could not make the fear go away. He could not blame Buck he could understand that he would think that he was no longer a friend, no longer to be trusted with Buck's safety. It was not true though. He still cared about Buck. He just needed him at a distance because it hurt too much to be close.

Nathan's car pulled into the driveway and Ezra suppressed the desire to run and greeted them with a smile. Dom hugged him and admonished him to listen before leaving. Ezra almost panicked, he was not at all sure he wanted a talk without Dom there. Nathan and Buck looked uncomfortable. Finally Ezra directed them to the back patio, after they sat down there was an awkward silence and then Nathan cleared his throat. "Look Ezra Buck finally asked what was up with me, and Vin, and you. Since he asked well, I told him why we were nervous, why you were nervous. He, well ... You do know he never believed what he was saying?" Ezra smiled a little at that. "Chris convinced me in the most dramatic way possible that Buck never did believe that I was corrupt or you know ... I just ..." this was harder to discuss than Ezra would have imagined. "I thought ... " He finally turned to look directly at Buck "I know you were sorry that my over-sensitivity to certain topics resulted in me being hurt. I was at fault for not applying the basic logic required to decipher the fact that you did not mean the sentiments expressed. It was weak and juvenile to react so badly when confronted with insults which were untrue. Your position is eminently justifiable. If you want me off the team because you are afraid that I am no longer able to do my job, that I am not trustworthy as your backup I promise you that ..." Buck's response to Ezra was eloquent if wordless. He got up, turned and punched the wall and then sat again and buried his face in his hands. After Nathan had verified that Buck's hand was severely bruised but not broken he pulled Ezra aside and related to him the entirety of their conversation. Ezra heard the details with astonishment, though he objected to Nathan's analogies, insisting that certainly nothing Buck had said was anywhere near as egregious as Nathan's examples. Finally he returned to Buck who had not moved since Nathan treated his hand.

Buck could not understand how he had come to a place where the trust between them was destroyed. Worse than that that they had come to the point where Ezra was scared of being pushed off the team. He had been angry and hurt that, as he had seen it, Ezra had chosen this other family over them. He had struck back wanting Ezra to hurt the way he had but somehow he had thought that Ezra would understand that it was just temper and fear, that he would never normally try and hurt him. When Nathan had said Ezra was afraid he had believed him to be exaggerating, clearly he had not been. That alone was bad enough but the idea that Ezra was seeing his pain as his own fault. He had never intended anything like this. When Ezra approached him again he could not face him. Finally Ezra called his name quietly. Buck looked at him and what he saw in Ezra's eyes made him hope. "Buck, I feel somewhat inadequate to the task of explaining my perceptions but I have to try. To have you of all people essentially attack me over my relationship with Dominic was disconcerting. You were the one who supported me during my dark days of despair when he left. You were the one who helped repair the relationship subsequent to your discovery of Mia's mistake. Then to find you deciding that I was faithless was astoundingly, extraordinarily, painful. Even if I had as you surmised chosen Dominic, Dominic's family, and I hope you realize it was not nearly that clear, I would have expected your support and not your animosity. When you reacted as you did. It forced me to question all of my assumptions about you. Indeed to be honest until Chris disabused me of the notion I was convinced you did indeed secretly believe the rumors of my corruption." At Buck's puzzled look Ezra explained Chris' oath, which did nothing to make Buck feel better. Nathan interceded briefly. "Let's all take a break, I can't help feel that while we now know that Buck does and did in fact realize his actions were wrong, there is some reason we have not explored as to why he did it anyway." Ezra got them all some drinks and snacks and they ate in silence for awhile and then Ezra wandered a short distance into the garden to call Dom. Buck watched him smile as he was talking to him and started to get annoyed. He complained to Nathan that this is what had set him off in the first place, sometimes it felt as though Ezra no longer had any time with just them. Buck had expected Nathan to agree but Nathan looked at him clearly puzzled and said "What? Are you jealous?" Buck knew that Nathan was being facetious but it made him pause and for the first time think about that question. He suddenly realized. "I am, I'm jealous of Ezra!"

Ezra was stunned. "Are you saying ... What you want Dominic? While you gentlemen are indeed brothers in all but blood Dominic would not ..." Buck interrupted before things got more complicated. "No! Not him specifically just the nature of what you have. I've never really had that level of commitment at least not for any period of time." Ezra's eyes softened and his voice was gentle "You are desirous of our level of affection. A relationship in which the other person's needs and desires are as important, perhaps on occasion more important than your own." "Yes." It was a relief to Buck that Ezra understood. "I was so angry because it was just more proof that you had what I have never had and somehow... I am so sorry Ezra the fact that I wanted to hurt you horrifies me now." Ezra smiled a more open and honest smile than Buck had seen since this whole thing started. "Well you could hardly take Dominic's route to relieve your feelings." That startled Buck into a laugh. Ezra's voice was serious "It hurt so much precisely because it was you Buck. When, ... back before, ... when Dominic was gone and you were the only one who knew why - you were my whole support structure. To have you repudiate my relationship after being the one who fixed it... Please Buck next time just punch me one it will hurt less." Buck looked at him and then a slow grin crossed his face, "Well blame the rest of the team for that. After all you must remember I did try." Ezra looked stunned and then started laughing and Buck laughed along with him. Finally they would be OK.


	9. Epilogue: Home

Dom rounded the last turn and he was on the home stretch. He punched it on the last straightaway and rocketed over the finish line, a good five car lengths ahead of his nearest rival. Then he coasted to a stop. Finally he had managed to win the title he had coveted for so long. He climbed out of the car and found his arms abruptly filled with an ecstatic Ezra. He pulled him into a hard kiss ignoring the wolf whistles from Buck this action caused. The whole of team seven was there alongside his family watching his triumph. In fact if he was honest the team was his family just as much as Brian was. He was even willing to accept Buck as a kind of brother in law as much as any of the others, which was amazing given that only a week ago his feelings had been decidedly cool. 

When Dom had decided that he was going to try for the championship race again he had approached Chris to see if he would be willing to come along. After all that had happened he was simply uncomfortable with the idea of Ezra without a trusted chaperone and Chris and Vin were the only people he trusted outside of Brian that he felt would be willing to go. To his surprise Chris had proposed the whole team make a vacation of it. The race this year would be held in Costa Rica which was new to everyone on the team and they had not had a team vacation in over a year and could all use the time off. Dom had not been sure what to say. He knew that he did not have the right to complain about Buck's statements hurting Ezra given his own actions but he was still furious. He had initially said he needed to see if he could make arrangements and then tried to think of a good excuse to leave Buck behind. However Chris discussed the idea with Ezra before Dom had come up with anything and when he brought it up Dom had been startled enough to say straight out "I don't mind the others but I don't want Buck there." Ezra had told him flatly that "Since I am the injured party my acceptance of his apology should be more than adequate to ensure your agreement particularly since he was instrumental in ensuring that I accepted your apology in similar circumstances." That had been the end of the discussion and Dom had given in though not without promising himself that he would ensure that Buck felt anything but welcome. 

Initially things had been cool between them but Dom found that Buck could be hard to dislike when he put in the effort and he clearly was trying. Furthermore Ezra had clearly completely forgiven him which thawed things even further. Dom was finally won over by the third day of the races when Ezra came back to their room fuming about "Overly protective idiots" and proceeded to tell a story of Buck decking one of the visiting tourists for calling him a pretty boy and trying to touch his arm. Ezra was not at all amused but for Dom that was good enough to move Buck back onto the list of trusted friends. Later that evening as he was bonding with Buck over a couple of beers Buck had pointed out that perhaps Ezra's rant was designed to do precisely that. Dom had been taken aback and then amused. He had already confirmed the story was true and that mattered more to him than Ezra's motivation in relaying it. After that night Dom had forgiven Buck as completely as Ezra had. 

There was a party in full swing in Dom's suite with all Dom's family happily causing chaos. Rain and Mia were monopolizing JD's Wii in the living room with Jack happily cheering them on. Josiah and Brian were in the kitchen engaged in a chili cook off. Casey was laughing with Nathan and Ezra as Buck continued his story of how well he would have done if he had been allowed in the race. Vin and Chris were talking quietly on the balcony which was something Dom needed to look into as soon as he had the energy to get up. Those two had been a little too incensed with the fact that the victory trophy that should have been passed to Dom was being held up in customs. JD was absorbed in researching the motor tweaks that Dom had told him would allow his precious motorcycle to go as fast as Dom had during the race. Although he was not in his house, here with these people, he was home.


End file.
